


without hope

by ebonynightwriter



Series: Shallura Week 2016 [9]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Balmera, Canon Universe, Drama, F/M, Gen, Hurt / Comfort, One-Shot, Planet Exploration, Shaken Faith, Shallura Week 2016
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-03
Updated: 2016-09-03
Packaged: 2018-08-15 05:13:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8043841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ebonynightwriter/pseuds/ebonynightwriter
Summary: On a mission to the sister planet of Balmera X-95-Vox, the team encounters something that leaves many hearts trampled.





	without hope

**Author's Note:**

> **A/N:** _*wipes brow*_ F-I-N-A-L-L-Y done with the last prompts of this week. This and the other one (beginning) gave me a tough time, but I think I came up with some interesting ideas, even if the execution may be lacking due to the fact that I’ve been writing for three days straight. ^^; Still, pretty happy with the results – even happier that I managed to do something for all the prompts! :)
> 
> -.-
> 
> **[shallura week (2016) // day 7](http://ebonynightwriter.tumblr.com/tagged/mine:%20shallura%20week%202016)** · change
> 
> -.-

There’s no resistance.

The Castleship and the Lions land with ease. Not even a small fighter ship sprouts from the deep tunnels of Balmera X-89-Vox. Allura exits the ship with Shay and Rax, meeting the Paladins beside one of its upturned thrusters.

“This doesn’t make any sense,” she says, looking around the creature’s barren surface. “Where are the Galra?”

Hunk moves over to Shay, pulling her in for a cheery side-hug. “Maybe they heard we were coming, and high-tailed it on outta here!”

“Alright!” Lance says, throwing a fist to the air. “Easiest victory yet!”

“Something doesn’t feel right,” Shiro says. “We should take a look at the caves.”

“Agreed,” Allura replies. “Take the Lion’s speeders. I’ll get a transport for the rest of us.”

“Look!” Pidge says, pointing to the edge of a mining hole. “Another Balmeran!”

Without hesitation, the group runs over to them. Rax kneels beside his kin, propping them up in his arms.

“Brother, please tell us,” he says, brow bent in concern. “What has happened here?”

The Balmeran coughs and grips Rax’s arm, giving low, shaken breaths.

“The Galra… they left. Left the crystals,” they say. “They told us we were free. Our people climbed to the surface – for the first time in our memory. But then it… it came.”

“What did?” Allura asks. “Please, tell us more.”

The Balmeran sighs, closing its eyes tight.

“A great pillar – dark as the farthest reaches of our tunnels. It came down from above, piercing the Balmera, and ribbons of light came from beast, rising into it,” they say. “Since then, the air has become still. The ground cracked. Our Balmera… it is… it…”

Shay kneels to the ground, placing her hand to the planet’s rocky surface.

“The Balmera…” she says. “It dies, at a rate even greater than our own. Princess, please! You must do as you did to our Balmera – heal its dying shell!”

Allura puts a hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t worry,” she says. “I’ll do all I can.”

She faces the others.

“Paladins, take as many Balmerans back to the ship as you can. Coran, ready the medical pods.”

She moves toward the ship. Shiro catches her shoulder.

“Are you sure you can do this?” he asks. Allura lowers her eyes.

“No,” she says, shaking her head. “But we have to try.”

He nods wearily, then lets her go.

.

.

.

With Shay and Rax’s help, they set up the healing ritual beneath the ship. Allura places herself in the middle of the glowing circle, concentrating on forming a bridge between herself and the castle’s crystal. It takes a few moments, but eventually the energy expands, just as it did on Shay’s Balmera. But as she places her hands to the ground to finalize the ritual she feels something ill wash over her. Her lungs empty, her vision blurs, and does the ritual’s energy fades to nothingness.

She falls to the ground.

_“Allura!”_

Someone catches her.

.

.

.

She wakes in a bed.

The room shifts as she raises – Coran and the Paladins moving to converge, then stop all at once. Tension hangs in the air as she slowly gains her bearings. She blinks slowly, her body drained – exhausted from the effort. Coran goes to her side, lifting a bowl of goo from a nearby table. She doesn’t look at. Instead she slides from the bed and walks past him, exiting the room. She doesn’t need to ask about the state of the creature – one look at them tells her all she needs to know.

It was a failure.

She passes Shay in the hallway, just outside the medical room. Hunk by her side, the Balmeran crouches into a ball, hugging herself tight. Allura share a small look with her Paladin, then goes past them as well. She walks through the halls of the medical bay, until she finally reaches a window looking at the Balmera.

It was dead.

“Princess.”

She blinks back tears. Her hands ball into fists, fingers driving into her palm as she forces her voice to speak even, slow and calm.

“I couldn’t heal it,” she says. “The Galra have grown even more powerful now.”

“We’ll find a way to stop them, Princess,” Shiro says. “We’re not going to let this happen again.”

“I’m not sure that we can,” she says, and the tiredness escapes her lips. “Things are so different than the old war, so much has _changed_. To take a planet’s quintessence in a matter of moments – I don’t know if Voltron can fight against that.”

He puts a hand on her shoulder.

“We’ll find a way,” he says. “I promise.”

She sighs.

“I hope you’re right.”

 


End file.
